Blast from the Past: Old Timey Computering!

I'm still ensconced in a network-wide malware infestation, that somehow manages to span two PCs, a MacBook Pro and at least one of our two Android phones. It seems to have started immediately after a party on Saturday, and I can't explain it. I've had no success in eradicating it yet. But while I work on it, I can think back to a simpler time. A time when computing was relatively virus- and malware-free. Come back with me, won't you?

1. CompuServe - This was an early online service, one that catered to the more professional set. It was kind of absorbed by AOL.

2. America Online -  Technically still around as AOL (and yes, I still use it), it was originally a more user-centered online service that had no internet access. But it had lots of people hooking up on their message boards!
 

3. Prodigy - One of the granddaddies of the online experience, Prodigy was about the best thing going for a little while. AOL and the advent of the World Wide Web pretty much killed them off.

4. Atari 400 Computer - One of the earliest computers for ordinary consumers, this one tried to parlay the very popular VCS 2600 video game system into computing success. It didn't ever get very poplar.
 

5. Commodore Vic20 - Even earlier than the Atari, this one paved the way for the much more successful. . .

6. Commodore 64 - This one was probably the most popular computer to predate Windows and Apple systems. They ran with this one long after it had been surpassed by more advanced computers.
 

7. Apple II - Apple may have always been behind PCs on the business front, but they always lead the way in schools, where the Apple II ruled. Still, they tried to market it as a home computer.

8. WebTV - Too far ahead of its time to be workable, what it set out to do is now done by other devices.
 

And while malicious code writers weren't as prevalent back in those days, I really wouldn't want to go back to them, would you? I'll sort these problems out, and undoubtedly encounter new ones. But one day, the devices we're using now will seem as quaint and simple as the ones in these ads.

For now, have a great (short) week. Happy Tuesday!

Blast from the Past: Old Computer Commercials

Bill Cosby image from ComputerCloset.org

I'm going through some computer woes with my MacBook Pro (more about that later), so I have been running through my past experience with the dreaded beasts. My experience with computing goes back to the Commodore 64 if you're talking hands-on experience with keyboarded computers. Prior to that, I had some exposure to my uncle's Commodore Vic-20, and the early home gaming units like Sears Tele-Systems (Atari) Pong, and the RCA Studio II gaming console. Of course, after that I've had some experience with countless gaming systems, and numerous other computers, to the point that I'm considered something of a guru, though sadly not with the Apple iUniverse.

Back in the early days, everyone was a novice. And picking which system to align yourself with was all guesswork. Commodore won out for a long time--at least with home systems--but eventually collapsed. Strong contenders were Atari, Texas Instruments and Radio Shack, all of which eventually died off. But it was a fun time, and there's a reason I included gaming systems. . .there was significant cross-over between them and dedicated computers, to the point that they usually took gaming cartridges.  Here are some of the commercials from the days when computers were nerdier versions of video games. See if you remember them. Or if you're too young, see what you missed!

#1 - Commodore 64 - This was the best of the bunch. A computer console with a scant 64K of memory, but endless expandability and creativity. They pushed this baby as far as it could go, and it was wildly successful for many years.

#2 - Atari 400 - This is a generic ad for an Atari computer from 1981, probably the 400. Atari tried so hard to capitalize on their arcade and home video game successes with a home computer. But they never really caught on. Noble effort though, and a great commercial.



#3 - TRS-80 - This commercial is from a later model. Radio Shack's little computer chugged along for years on fumes. I remember a friend touting the superiority of his first-generation TRS 80 to our Commodore 64. The truth was, his TRaSh 80 was little more than half-step past Pong.

#4 - Texas Instruments TI99/4a - TI made it big with calculators, and so they tried to get in on the home computer craze. The case was cheesy, and the computer was lame. But they got Bill Cosby for their ad!

#5 - Coleco Adam - Adam was the logical outgrowth of the popular ColecoVision, and both systems had adapters for the Atari 2600 game cartridges. Probably was a victim--like the others--of trying too hard too soon. Technology just wasn't there to make these things practical workhorses.

#6 - Apple II - Apple probably got to where it is today by insinuating itself into schools early. Every school with a computer lab in the early 80s had the Apple II, Apple IIc, Apple IIe or Apple III. I knew nobody who had them at home, but this was right before the first Macintosh, and really is where they got their start as a known entity.

Sadly, I couldn't find commercials for other early computers like the Timex Sinclair, and after that they get pretty obscure anyway. Of course. Atari, Commodore, Radio Shack and Texas Instruments tried other models, and some were moderately successful for a while. But when first the Mac and then Windows caught on as home systems, it was all she wrote for these other guys.

So, that's it for this weekend's edition. Have a great week, everyone. Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Old Computers!

I have a little blogger's block today. I've been all over the political and news blogs, and can't find much else that wows me. And I try not to post things that don't interest me. So, I got to thinking about some of the frivolous stuff that gets my brain going. I started thinking about the "Wiki" holes I've found myself in: hours whiled away on Wikipedia reading about this and that.

One of the topics that lost me for hours was reading the histories of early computers and video games. The nostalgia bug just bites me, and I can read about the intricacies of the "console wars" between Commodore, Atari and Texas Instruments, and for whatever reason, I find it interesting. You might not be so inclined. This post will deal with computers.

Here are some of the commercials from the days when computers were nerdier versions of video games. See if you remember them. Or if you're too young, see what you missed!





#1 - Commodore 64 - This was the best of the bunch. A computer console with a scant 64K of memory, but endless expandability and creativity. They pushed this baby as far as it could go, and it was wildly successful for many years.

#2 - Atari 400 - This is a generic ad for an Atari computer from 1981, probably the 400. Atari tried so hard to capitalize on their arcade and home video game successes with a home computer. But they never really caught on. Noble effort though, and a great commercial.

#3 - TRS-80 - This commercial is from a later model. Radio Shack's little computer chugged along for years on fumes. I remember a friend touting the superiority of his first-generation TRS 80 to our Commodore 64. The truth was, his TRaSh 80 was little more than half-step past Pong.

#4 - Texas Instruments TI99/4a - TI made it big with calculators, and so they tried to get in on the home computer craze. The case was cheesy, and the computer was lame. But they got Bill Cosby for their ad!